By Scott Brinton The re-election of Hempstead Mayor Waylyn Hobbs Jr. over challenger Kevin Boone leaves open a question of whether the village will cooperate with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers as they seek to carry out President Trump’s executive orders calling for mass detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants. Boone, who lost his trustee seatContinue reading “With Hempstead mayor re-elected, ICE cooperation remains uncertain”
Author Archives: scottbrinton1
AP ban an attack on press freedom
By Scott Brinton One early casualty of President Donald Trump’s war of words over the Gulf of Mexico is freedom of the press. The president barred The Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force One because the news agency took a principled stand by refusing to refer to the water body as theContinue reading “AP ban an attack on press freedom”
Hofstra law professor breaks down Trump’s immigration strategy
By Melinda Rolls The Trump administration has moved swiftly to carry out a series of executive orders on immigration that are intended to crack down on illegal immigration and secure the border. Those orders, though, may be more about instilling fear in immigrants to force them out of the country rather than using Immigration and CustomsContinue reading “Hofstra law professor breaks down Trump’s immigration strategy”
¿Éxodo de inmigrantes? Las políticas de Trump desatan la incertidumbre y el miedo en Nassau
My first Spanish-language bylined story!! Thank you to the Hempstead-based La Tribuna Hispana!! Sergio Jiménez, de Amityville, activista de una coalición por los derechos de los inmigrantes que incluye el Workplace Project en Hempstead, fue abordado recientemente por un conocido con una propuesta inusual: El hombre, un inmigrante hondureño, le preguntó si Jiménez quería comprarContinue reading “¿Éxodo de inmigrantes? Las políticas de Trump desatan la incertidumbre y el miedo en Nassau”
Activists, leaders condemn Nassau police-ICE partnership
County Executive Blakeman emphasizes only known criminals would be detained By Gabriel Prevots More than a hundred protesters gathered on the steps of the Nassau County’s Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building Friday to denounce County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s announcement that 10 county police detectives will be deputized to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Continue reading “Activists, leaders condemn Nassau police-ICE partnership”
Immigrant exodus? Trump policies spark uncertainty, fear in Nassau
By Scott Brinton Sergio Jimenez, of Amityville, an activist with an immigrant rights coalition that includes the Workplace Project in Hempstead, was recently approached by an acquaintance with an unusual proposition: The man asked whether Jimenez would take over his car payments. The Honduran man had had enough of the Trump administration’s treatment of theContinue reading “Immigrant exodus? Trump policies spark uncertainty, fear in Nassau”
Hempstead, Hofstra unite to celebrate MLK’s dream
By Scott Brinton I was honored to cover the 2025 Hempstead-Hofstra MLK Day Parade and Celebration. Here’s my Long Island Advocate report: Dressed in a dark purple suit, her hands flowing excitedly and her voice booming through the Hofstra University Student Center on Saturday, Dr. LaQuetta Solomon, clinical psychotherapist and emotional intelligence assessor, declared, “OurContinue reading “Hempstead, Hofstra unite to celebrate MLK’s dream”
‘Stereophonic’ hits all the human notes — low and high
By Scott Brinton My wife, Katerina, and I over the weekend took in Stereophonic on Broadway, which follows an unnamed ’70s pop-rock band closely resembling Fleetwood Mac as it ascends up the charts and their familial and platonic bonds devolve into internecine feuding that threatens to unravel the band — just like Fleetwood Mac. IContinue reading “‘Stereophonic’ hits all the human notes — low and high”
The Suburban News Desert, an interactive website
My Hofstra University colleagues Mario A. Murillo, Aashish Kumar, and I last night revealed the interactive website that we’ve been working on the past year or so to graphically represent our academic study on suburban news deserts. Special thanks to Hofstra University President Susan Poser, whose office funded our research, and to our amazing coderContinue reading “The Suburban News Desert, an interactive website”
Reflections on 2024: The racial divide in America’s electoral decision
Opinion and Analysis By Scott Brinton Updated Nov. 19, 2024, 8 a.m.: There is no singular, well-defined reason that Kamala Harris lost her 2024 bid for the presidency. There are many. What is clear is this: Race played a part in this year’s presidential election, whether we want to acknowledge it or not. Harris, theContinue reading “Reflections on 2024: The racial divide in America’s electoral decision”
After town hall, CNN punditry holds Harris to a higher standard
Opinion By Scott Brinton As a media observer, I found CNN’s after-action report on its Oct. 23 town hall with Vice President Kamala Harris to be a classic case of beltway elitism in which the network’s commentators, on the right and left, went to extraordinary lengths to dissect Harris’s every statement through the prism ofContinue reading “After town hall, CNN punditry holds Harris to a higher standard”
Hempstead, Hofstra MLK Day parade seeks unity of purpose
By Scott Brinton “We cannot walk alone,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously intoned in his seminal “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered on the steps to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on Aug. 28, 1963. “And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.” It seemed only fitting thenContinue reading “Hempstead, Hofstra MLK Day parade seeks unity of purpose”
My travelogue: Bulgaria, a land steeped in nature and history
This past summer, I returned to Bulgaria, where I served in the U.S. Peace Corps, for the first time in 10 years. I produced this travelogue after my trip: I immediately noticed the interlocking pattern of shadows that fell from the canopy of deciduous and evergreen trees onto the tombstones covered in brambles and wildflowersContinue reading “My travelogue: Bulgaria, a land steeped in nature and history”
L.I. Advocate, Pulse Magazine earn 15 Press Club honors
The Long Island Advocate, Hofstra University’s online multimedia platform for off-campus reporting, took home 13 awards in the Press Club of Long Island’s 2023 Media Awards, presented last Thursday at Fox Hollow in Woodbury. The honors included six first places for Investigative Series Narrative, Feature Story Radio, News Story Radio, Feature Package Video, News PackageContinue reading “L.I. Advocate, Pulse Magazine earn 15 Press Club honors”
Former Nick’s Pizza owner reaches $375K settlement with workers
I have a bit of catching up to do with my blog, so this post is coming a tad late, but I am still excited to say the former of Nick’s Pizza in Rockville Centre reached a $375,000 settlement with eight former workers. Here’s my Long Island Advocate story: Julio Contreras, of Freeport, arrived inContinue reading “Former Nick’s Pizza owner reaches $375K settlement with workers”
When a dining ‘megavenue’ goes under
Here’s part 2 of the investigation I’ve been working on w/@ABC7NY‘s @KristinThorne since September. In this installment, a ‘megalithic’ collection of eateries goes under, leaving the future of a #NYC historic landmark in question. Since the early to mid-2000s, restaurant developer Peter Poulakakos has steadily built a portfolio of fashionable eateries across Lower Manhattan. The collapseContinue reading “When a dining ‘megavenue’ goes under”
Rockville Centre restaurateur wrapped up in a string of lawsuits
Here’s my latest on the Hofstra University Herbert School of Communication’s Long Island Advocate: By Scott Brinton Part one of two. Diana Sanchez, regional organizer for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, stood feet from the glass-door entrance to Nick’s Pizza, on Sunrise Highway in Rockville Centre, and shouted into a microphone, “Shame on you!”Continue reading “Rockville Centre restaurateur wrapped up in a string of lawsuits”
Review: Seward Johnson show at Old Westbury full of whimsy
By Scott Brinton Perhaps it was the slant of the sun on this July 4 afternoon, or maybe it was the statue’s shimmering metallic sheen, or both, but one piece in the Seward Johnson exhibit now on display at Old Westbury Gardens — of a guitarist strumming away by a lake in the forest, titled “My DogContinue reading “Review: Seward Johnson show at Old Westbury full of whimsy”
N.Y. Soccer Latin Academy scores big with kids
I had such great fun covering this story for Hofstra University’s Long Island Advocate: By Scott Brinton The soccer players, all 10- and 11-year-old members of the Panteras, or Panthers, started to assemble in a semi-straight line in front of the net before 5 p.m. for their 5:30 practice on a recent Thursday, firing furious shots onContinue reading “N.Y. Soccer Latin Academy scores big with kids”
Remembering the war in Ukraine
With all that is happening in the United States and around the world at this moment, it is too easy to forget the war that Russia is waging at this very moment on the democratic nation of Ukraine. Below are links to some of my coverage of the war from the Long Island perspective. IContinue reading “Remembering the war in Ukraine”
